GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) – A 42 year old man has been sentenced to 44 years in jail after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in 2013.

Errol DeSouza, a father of 12, chose to say nothing on Thursday before Justice Jo-Ann Barlow who handed down the sentence.

According to the indictment, DeSouza sexually penetrated the girl child between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2013, in the county of Essequibo.

Two weeks ago, DeSouza was found guilty of the charges by a 12-member jury and was remanded to prison, pending a probation report.

According to the probation report, DeSouza denied having sexual encounters with the victim, who, at the time of the incident, was in primary school.

His attorney, Ravindra Mohabir, asked the court to be lenient saying he was the sole breadwinner of the family.

But the judge said that children had to be protected and sentenced DeSouza to 20 years in jail on the first charge of sexual penetration of an 11-year-old child and 24 years to the rape of a child.

The judge said that DeSouza had betrayed the victim’s trust and broke the bond that they shared. She said also that based upon the victim’s impact statement, she (the victim) was unhappy and withdrawn.

The judge noted that what DeSouza had done was more than violence, having raped the victim on two occasions.

“Enough is enough,” Justice Barlow said as she explained that there were many similar cases, and children needed to be protected.